GUWAHATI: At least 10 tea garden workers were injured, two of them seriously, when owners of Bogidhola Tea Estate in Golaghat district of Assam opened indiscriminate fire on a protesting groups of workers in tea estate on Wednesday.
Police informed that owners of Bogidhola Tea Estate at Numaligarh in Golaghat district opened fire at a group of tea workers who were holding protests demanding payment of pending wages and annual bonus. Ten workers were injured who were rushed to nearby hospital. Condition of two of the injured were stayed to be serious.
Police have arrested the owners of the tea estate – Sudhir Roy and Samir Roy – following the incident and further investigation was on. Police said the owners of the tea estate have two licensed guns – one SBBL gun and a shot gun.
The police said the protest held by the tea workers was turning for the worse with workers starting to set fire to trees in within the tea plantation besides laying siege to the office of the tea garden.
On the other hand, the workers alleged that the tea garden owners had been ignoring to their sustained demand for payment of pending wages and accused the state-level tea workers’ unions of acting in the interests of owners.
